Valentina Baldini, Arts and Tech Editor
@vbaldinicourant
Every year, The New England Academy of Dance (NEAD) gathers at the NCHS auditorium to perform one of the most famous ballets – The Nutcracker. On December 13, 14 and 15, NEAD performed their thirty-ninth production of The Nutcracker, where dancers brought a magical performance from the land of sweets and fighting mice-kings.
NEAD is a dance studio located in New Canaan, mainly focused on the training of ballet. “NEAD is an extraordinary dance training program for pre-professional levels,” said company member Chloe Perkins. “The Nutcracker is a Christmas tradition for NEAD, and we portray it every year in December.”
Leading up to the big performance, the dancers underwent numerous hours of training and rehearsals to perfect their dancing. Every year, they have to learn new roles, stage their parts and work together to create the production. “Rehearsals are on the weekend and timing depends on what roles you have,” Chloe said. “My weekends consist of three rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday and each are between 1-2 hours.”
Because dances as young as six years old were casted in The Nutcracker, the dancers and teachers at NEAD help the younger dancers as this is often a new experience for them. “The teachers and older dancers hold rehearsals for the young dancers every weekend,” said company member Lindsay Hanlon. “It’s both a great opportunity for us older kids to get a feel of teaching and for the younger kids to be a part of this experience.’
The Nutcracker has many similarities and differences from other ballets in terms of rehearsal and performances. “The Nutcracker is like other ballets because it’s difficult and time consuming, but always very very fun,” Lindsay said. “But, It’s different from other productions because of the magical feeling. The Nutcracker is a classic and has a very nice christmas, feel-good vibe to it. The production brings us all so close, and makes us feel like family among the five shows we have. “
NEAD faced a lot of challenges when it came to stage and producing a show with such a large production. “The biggest challenge comes first when they have to cast all of us dancers. Every year we have such a large number of dancers of all ages, and not too many roles, especially for the company,” Lindsay said. “The next big challenge is finding the time and scheduling for all our rehearsals.
Chloe explains that her favorite part of The Nutcracker is the party scene. “It’s very happy and stands out from the rest of the performance, as it is mostly acting based,” she said. “This year my role was a maid, and it was really special to be a part of the scene with many younger and older dancers.”
Lindsay recommends people should come watch The Nutcracker next December. “I believe it’s genuinely a fun and amazing experience as you can truly see the fun and joy in the dancers,” she said. “It’s an amazing production and pieces together really well.”
